Royal Rumble 2023: From Cody and Rhea’s Wins to the Surprise Returns; Wrestling Fans Have Their Say

• Rhea Ripley's victory in the Royal Rumble has earned high praise from fans who believe she deserved it
• Fans are torn over Cody Rhode's winning the Men's Rumble match, with some feeling it was too predictable
• Booker T's return got a huge pop from the crowd and even fans on social media were happy to see the WWE legend

Every wrestling lover is talking about the Royal Rumble.

One of WWE's most iconic pay-per-views took place in San Antonio Texas and officially kicked off the road to WrestleMania.

As noted by Bleacher Report, Cody Rhodes returned from injury to win the Men's Rumble match, Rhea Ripley went wire-to-wire to win the Women's event.

Ripley makes history

Ripley became only the fourth superstar to win the event after coming in at number 1, and the first woman to do so.

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Fans have their say

With any big show, the wrestling community is going to be split on how they saw it play out. Here's how fans reacted to the Rumble matches themselves when it came to:

Cody winning

@JBEAST405:

"See here’s my issue, he was obviously gonna win it but the way they were booking the rumble instead of me wanting Cody to win it, I’m over here rooting for Gunther to win. I mean come on at least send Cody out at maybe 15-20 to let him wrestle for more than five minutes.

@KamboKombo:

"He was the best man. Cody is the American Nightmare. He's gonna be Roman's nightmare come Wrestlemania. Well done Cody. So proud bro."

@410Chris_:

"The match was meh but Cody winning made it better!!!"

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@JeremySpilman:

"Way too predictable with Cody at #30. No real surprises to speak of in the rumble match."

Rhea Ripley's victory

@AdrianE04275411:

"It’s not Wrestlemania anymore. It’s #Mamimania now."

@J_Vang1:

"Way better than the Men's Royal Rumble! The suspense was there the entire time. Never knew who was going to win it. I would have been fine with the last remaining women. They all deserve it."

@da_austinz:

"This was the best rumble tonight easily! Rhea Ripley deserves it all. I am so excited to see Rhea/Dom vs Beth/Edge at Montreal for Edge’s last match! Then Wrestlemania to see Rhea dethrone Bianca!"

The Returns

@NotVeryBland:

When Booker T wrestles, you just know the people are gonna want to see that Spinarooni! It’s like a Rolling Stones concert where the audience is going to be disappointed if they don’t hear (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction!"

@_ConnerPW:

"Asuka’s return definitely got the biggest POP in this Women’s Royal Rumble Match. The pop when she revealed her Kana-style face paint was tremendous."

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@nyligirl73:

"Yes!!!! Piper is back!"

@romanspearme:

"Michelle McCool entering the Women's Royal Rumble from the crowd and then continuing to wrestle in her sweatpants and ugg boots is the most cinematic part of the 2023 Royal Rumble."

Ripley outlast 29 others

The Women’s Royal Rumble match kicked off with Rhea Ripley entering at number one and Liv Morgan entering at number two.

The Nightmare went all the way as she eliminated Morgan last to be crowned the winner of the Women's Rumble match.

Ripley became the first woman to achieve the historic feat and only the fourth wrestler to do so, Sports Brief earlier reported.

Cody books his WrestleMania spot

Cody Rhodes is headed to WrestleMania.

The American Nightmare won the Men's Royal Rumble match, beating Gunther in the final two.

Gunther started as the number one entrant while Rhodes was the final man to enter the match, Sports Brief reported.